Punch press

ABSTRACT

A punch press includes a punch support body, on which a plurality of punches are mounted, and an integrated die support body positioned below the integrated punch support body and including a plurality of dies mounted thereon to perform a punching process in cooperation with the punches. The plurality of the dies are juxtaposed along a rim of the integrated die support body. The integrated die support body includes an integrated die support main body and an in-and-out moving body that enables at least a portion thereof to assume a condition emerging out of the rim of the integrated die support body while its connection with the integrated die support main body is retained. Some of the dies disposed in the integrated die support body are disposed in the in-and-out moving body.

CROSS REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims Convention priority to Japanesepatent application No. 2013-109586, filed May 24, 2013, the entiredisclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference as a part ofthis application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a punch press which performs a punchingprocess on a sheet material and, more particularly, to improvements indie replacement work.

2. Description of the Related Art

By way of example, a turret punch press includes a die holder disposedin a lower turret, which defines an integrated die support body, and adie supported by the die holder, which defines a lower tool. When itcomes to replacement of the die, a replacement work is carried out viaan attendant worker's hand or a tool inserted between upper and lowerturrets. This replacement work is difficult to accomplish because a dieplacement section of the die holder is hidden beneath the upper turretand is therefore not readily available within the sight. In particular,in the case of the die holder in which a plurality of dies are supportedhaving been juxtaposed relative to each other in a radial direction ofthe lower turret, the attendant worker's hand would hardly reach, frombelow the lower turret, the die situated at a far deep side as viewedfrom an outer periphery of the lower turret and, hence, the replacementis substantially impossible to achieve.

In view of the above, so that the work to replace the die may befacilitated, suggestions have been made, for example, to make a portionof the die holder to be removable and to enable the die holder to beremovable from the lower turret such as disclosed in Japanese Patent No.2861928. Also, another suggestion has been made to enable the die holderto be removable from the lower turret and to use a mechanism forreplacing the removed die holder with a die holder for a tool magazinethat is provided separate from the lower turret such as disclosed in,for example, JP Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. H07-053777. Inaddition, Japanese Patent No. 2602176, for example, discloses that thelower turret has an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter ofthe upper turret so as to provide a space above the die for replacementpurpose.

Removal of the die holder in part or whole of the die holder asdisclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2861928 requires, in addition to thedie replacement work, a heavy and arduous work to remove the die holderrelative to the lower turret. Therefore, a substantial amount of time isrequired, and also the attendant worker is loaded too much. The use ofthe mechanism for replacement of the die holder such as disclosed in JPLaid-open Utility Model Publication No. H07-053777 tends to render theequipment to be bulky. In addition, according to Japanese Patent No.2602176, the need is realized to increase the outer diameter of thelower turret to a value greater than the outer diameter of the upperturret.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing problems and inconveniences inherent in theprior art, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide apunch press that is simple in structure and make it possible to easilyand efficiently perform the replacement of the die relative to anintegrated die support body such as, for example, the lower turret.

A punch die according to a preferred embodiment of the present inventionincludes a plurality of punches; a plurality of dies that perform apunching process in cooperation with the punches; an integrated punchsupport body, on which the punches are mounted; and an integrated diesupport body positioned below the integrated punch support body andhaving the dies mounted thereon. The integrated die support body has astructure such that the plurality of the dies are juxtaposed along a rimof the integrated die support body. The integrated die support bodyincludes an integrated die support main body and an in-and-out movingbody that enables at least a portion thereof to assume a conditionemerging out of the rim of the integrated die support body whileconnection of the in-and-out moving body with the integrated die supportmain body is retained. In such case, some of the dies disposed in theintegrated die support body are disposed in the in-and-out moving body.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, while atleast a portion of the in-and-out moving body is brought out of the rimof the integrated die support body, the die mounted on the in-and-outmoving body is replaced with a different die, or once the die is removedand is subjected to a process such as, for example, grinding, the dieonce removed is re-mounted. Since the in-and-out moving body is inposition at the outside of the integrated die support body, a largespace is available between upper and lower sides of the die mountingarea of the die holder and, at the same time, the die is easily viewablevia the worker's eyes. Therefore, the die replacement work is easily,assuredly and safely accomplished. Since the plurality of dies aremounted on the in-and-out moving body, bringing one in-and-out movingbody out of the rim of the integrated die support body makes it possibleto replace the plurality of dies, and the efficiency is hence good. Thein-and-out moving body is held in a condition emerged out of the rim ofthe integrated die support body while the connection with the integrateddie support body is maintained. Accordingly, unlike the type in whichthe in-and-out moving body is removed, the in-and-out moving body,brought to the outside of the integrated die support body, is able to besecured at a proper position and the die replacement work is able to beeasily accomplished.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the integrated diesupport body may be a turret. In the case where the integrated diesupport body is a turret, a plurality of the dies are able to be mountedon the turret. Accordingly, one of the advantages of such a preferredembodiment of the present invention is that the replacement of the dierelative to the integrated die support body such as, for example, thelower turret, is able to be easily and efficiently accomplished.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the in-and-outmoving body referred to above may be rotatable about a traverse centershaft, provided in the integrated die support main body, to move in andout with respect to the rim of the integrated die support body. Theconstruction in which the in-and-out moving body is able to traverseabout the traverse center shaft, makes it possible for the in-and-outmoving body to be precisely brought into and out of the rim of theintegrated die support body, as compared with the construction in whichthe in-and-out moving body is selectively advanced and retracted in alinear direction. Also, a mechanism to bring the in-and-out moving bodyin and out is greatly simplified, and is thus able to be manufacturedinexpensively.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the punchpress may further include a plurality of die holders removably securedto the in-and-out moving body, in which case the plurality of the diesare mounted individually or in a plural number on each of the dieholders. The number of the dies that are able to be mounted on one dieholder is not specifically limited. If the die is mounted on thein-and-out moving body through the die holder, a variety of types ofdies are able to be mounted on the in-and-out moving body by replacingthe die holder with that appropriate to the die.

Any combination of at least two constructions, disclosed in the appendedclaims and/or the specification and/or the accompanying drawings shouldbe construed as included within the scope of the present invention. Inparticular, any combination of two or more of the appended claims shouldbe equally construed as included within the scope of the presentinvention.

The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics andadvantages of the present invention will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments withreference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a punch press according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the punch press with a portion removed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic top plan view of a lower turret used in the punchpress.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a lower turret of the punch presswith one of in-and-out moving bodies emerged out of the rim of the lowerturret.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an in-and-out moving body disposedportion of the lower turret.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing a traversing support unitof the in-and-out moving body in the lower turret.

FIG. 7A is a schematic top plan view showing a fixture unit for thein-and-out moving body.

FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view taken along the line VIIB-VIIB in FIG.7A.

FIG. 7C is a cross sectional view taken along the line VIIC-VIIC in FIG.7A

FIG. 8A is a schematic top plan view showing a portion of the lowerturret.

FIG. 8B is a cross sectional view taken along the line VIIIB-VIIIB inFIG. 8A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described in detail in connection witha preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. In particular, FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a punchpress in its entirety according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the punch press witha portion thereof removed. The illustrated punch press preferably is ofa type having upper and lower turrets 2 and 3, for example. It is to benoted that the upper turret 2 is not shown in FIG. 2 for the sake ofbrevity. Each of the upper and lower turrets 2 and 3 is of asubstantially flat round configuration, and those upper and lowerturrets 2 and 3 are supported respectively by upper and lower horizontalframe sections 1 a and 1 b of a press frame structure 1 for rotationcoaxially about associated vertical shafts. The upper turret 2 definesan integrated punch support body and has a plurality of punches 4arranged in line along a rim of the upper turret 2. On the other hand,the lower turret 3 defines an integrated die support body and includes aplurality of dies 5 arranged in a line along a rim of the lower turret3. It is to be noted that the term “rim” referred to above andhereinafter indicates an outer peripheral edge of each of the turrets 2and 3.

When the upper and lower turrets 2 and 3 are synchronously driven by amotor (not shown), a pair of a punch 4 and a die 5 are successivelyindexed to assume a processing station P. When the punch 4, which arebrought to the processing station P, is driven via a ram 7 by a punchdrive source 8 such as, for example, a drive motor so as to lower to adescended position, the punch 4 cooperates with the die 5 to perform apunching process on a sheet material W.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet material W is fed, by a sheet materialfeeding unit 13, on a table in a forward and rearward direction and/orin a leftward and rightward direction so that a portion of the sheetmaterial W to be processed is able to be brought to the processingstation P. The sheet material feeding unit 13 includes a carriage 15movable in the forward and rearward direction (Y direction) , a crossslide 16 movable in the leftward and rearward direction (X direction),which slide 16 is mounted on the carriage 15, and a work holder 17 thatholds one end of the sheet material W, which holder 17 is mounted on thecross slide 16.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic top plan view of the lower turret 3, andFIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the lower turret 3 in a conditiondifferent from that shown in FIG. 3. The lower turret 3 includes a lowerturret main body 21 which defines an integrated die support main body,and a plurality of, for example, four in-and-out moving bodies 22juxtaposed one after another in a circumferential direction along therim of an upper surface of the lower turret main body 21. A plurality ofdie holders 23 are removably secured to the upper surface of the lowerturret main body 21 or the in-and-out moving bodies 22, and the dies 5are disposed respectively in each of the die holders 23. In the presentpreferred embodiment, one or two dies 5 preferably are disposed on onedie holder 23, for example, but three or more dies 5 may be disposed onone die holder 23.

A center portion of the lower turret main body 21 is provided with asheet material feeding table 24 having its upper surface level orsubstantially level with an upper surface of each of the dies 5. It isto be noted that two of the in-and-out moving bodies 22, which aredepicted on an upper portion of the figure of FIG. 3, are shown as in acondition having no die holder 23 provided therein.

As shown in FIG. 5, the in-and-out moving body 22 is supported by thelower turret main body 21 for rotation about a traverse center shaft 25that is positioned in the vicinity of one circumferential end of thein-and-out moving body 22. The in-and-out moving body 22 is switchablebetween a use position (shown by the solid line in FIG. 3), at which thewhole thereof is inside of the rim of the lower turret 3, and areplacement position (shown by the double dotted line in FIG. 3) atwhich a major portion thereof is outside of the rim of the lower turret3. At the use position, the in-and-out moving body 22 is positionedhaving been brought into contact with a positioning member 26 providedin the upper surface of the lower turret main body 21 so as to protrudetherefrom. A fixture unit 27 that fixes the in-and-out moving body 22 inthe use position in the vicinity of the circumferentially opposite endof the in-and-out moving body 22 extends between the lower turret mainbody 21 and the in-and-out moving body 22.

At the replacement position, the die 5 mounted on each of the die holder23 provided in the in-and-out moving body 22 is held in condition havingbeen emerged out of the rim of the lower turret 3. It is, however, to benoted that all of the dies 5 mounted on the corresponding die holders 23provided in the in-and-out moving body 22 may not be necessarily broughtout of the rim of the lower turret 3 and a portion of the dies 5 may bepositioned inside of the rim of the lower turret 3. In the presentpreferred embodiment, with the in-and-out moving body 22 held at the useposition, the single die 5 (shown by 5X in FIG. 3), which is positionedin the vicinity of the traverse center shaft 25, is positioned inside ofthe rim of the lower turret 3, but the position thereof is so close tothe rim that an attendant worker's hand can easily access the die 5Xfrom the outer periphery of the lower turret 3. Therefore, no problemwill arise during execution of a die replacement work as will bediscussed later.

As discussed above, where a plurality of dies 5 are mounted on thein-and-out moving body 22, at the replacement position one or some ofthe dies 5 may be positioned inside of the rim of the lower turret 3 aslong as the attendant worker's hand is able to access them from theouter periphery of the lower turret 3. It is to be noted that thewording “one or some of the dies 5” indicates not all of the dies 5regardless of the number of the dies used.

FIG. 6 illustrates a sectional view of a traverse support unit for thein-and-out moving body 22 about the traverse center shaft 25. Thetraverse center shaft 25 preferably is in the form of a stepped shaftincluding a large diameter portion 25 a and a reduced diameter portion25 b. The large diameter portion 25 a is engaged in a recessed area 30defined in the upper surface of the lower turret main body 21. Thereduced diameter portion 25 b is rotatably engaged in a throughhole 31,defined in the in-and-out moving body 22, through a bushing 32. Thetraverse center shaft 25 is fixed to the lower turret main body 21 whena bolt 33 inserted from a bolt insertion hole defined in the bottomsurface of the lower turret main body 21 is threaded into an internallythreaded hole defined in the large diameter portion 25 a. In this way,the in-and-out moving body 22 is supported for traversal movement (i.e.,rotation) about the traverse center shaft 25.

The bushing 32 referred to above includes an upper portion including acollar 32 a located on a counter sunken portion defined in an upperportion of the throughhole 31, and is fixed to the in-and-out movingbody 22 via a bolt 34 inserted into the collar 32 a. The reduceddiameter portion 25 b of the traverse center shaft 25 includes an outerperipheral surface provided with a plurality of circumferentiallyextending grease reserving grooves 35.

Also, a restraint member 36 is fitted from above to the traverse centershaft 25 via a bolt 37, and the restraint member includes a collarportion 36 a located on an upper surface of the collar 32 a of thebushing 32, such that the in-and-out moving body 22 and the bushing 32are prevented from separating from the traverse center shaft 25. It isto be noted that, in a condition in which the restraint member 36 is incontact with an upper end surface of the traverse center shaft 25, aminute dimension is provided between the collar 36 a of the restraintmember 36 and the bushing 32.

FIG. 7A illustrates a schematic top plan view showing a fixture unit 27for the in-and-out moving body 22 and FIGS. 7B and 7C are a crosssectional view taken along the lines VIIB-VIIB and VIIC-VIIC in FIG. 7A,respectively. The fixture unit 27 includes a female screw member 41engageable in a recess 40, defined in the upper surface of the lowerturret main body 21, a bolt insertion member 42 provided in thein-and-out moving body 22, and a fixing bolt 43. It is to be noted thatFIGS. 7A and 7C illustrate the fixture unit 27 with no fixing bolt 43included.

The female screw member 41 is fixed to the lower turret main body 21 bya bolt 45 inserted from a bottom surface of the lower turret main body21. The bolt insertion member 42 includes a lower portion defining amounting area 42 a, which preferably has a flat plate shape, and isfixed at the mounting area 42 a to the in-and-out moving body 22 by abolt 46. The female screw member 41 and the bolt insertion member 42 arerespectively provided with a threaded hole 47 and a bolt insertion hole48 that are held in coaxial relation with each other. The threaded hole47 and the bolt insertion hole 48 are inclined inwardly from the outerperiphery of the lower turret in a radial direction of the lower turret.When the fixing bolt 43 is inserted from the lower turret outerdiametric side into the bolt insertion hole 48 and a threaded portionthereof is then threaded into the threaded hole 47. By so doing, thein-and-out moving body 22 is fixed to the lower turret main body 21.

As described above, the structure is provided in which, when thein-and-out moving body 22 is turned about the traverse center shaft 25,the in-and-out moving body 22 is able to be moved selectively inside andoutside of the rim of the lower turret 3. Accordingly, the in-and-outmoving body 22 is able to be precisely brought in and out, and also amechanism that draws the in-and-out moving body 22 in and out is greatlysimplified and is therefore assembled inexpensively. Also, since thefixture unit 27 is of such a design that the fixing bolt 43 is able tobe advanced and retracted in a diagonally downward direction, anoperation to loosening and fastening the fixing bolt 43 from the lowerturret outer diametric side is easily accomplished. It is to be notedthat the traverse center shaft 25 referred hereinbefore may be fixed tothe in-and-out moving body 22, but rotatable relative to the lowerturret 3.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a schematic top plan view and a schematic sectionalview, both showing a portion of the lower turret 3 and, specifically, amounting area for the die holder 23 shown by the outline arrow in FIG.3. The die holder 23 preferably is of a type designed to support twodies 5 (5A and 5B) with respect to the in-and-out moving body 22. Forexample, the die 5A preferably has a round or substantially round shapein top plan representation and includes a rectangular or substantiallyrectangular perforating hole 5Aa defined in a center portion thereof.Also, the die 5B preferably has a round or substantially round shape intop plan representation and includes a round or substantially roundperforating hole 5Ba defined in a center portion thereof . The dieholder 23 preferably is of a generally sector shape flaring in adirection radially outwardly of the lower turret 3, and is secured tothe in-and-out moving body 22 preferably via a plurality of bolts 50inserted from a bottom surface of the in-and-out moving body 22.

Each of the dies 5 is engaged in a die holding recess 51 preferably inthe form of a counter sunken bore defined in an upper surface of the dieholder 23, and is seated on an annular bottom surface of the die holdingrecess 51 with its upper end protruding outwardly beyond the uppersurface of the die holding recess 51. A slug discharge hole 52 of adiameter smaller than the die holding recess 51 extends downwardly fromthe bottom surface of the die holding recess 51. The slug discharge hole52 is communicated with a slug dropout hole 53 defined in the in-and-outmoving body 22 and also with a slug dropout hole 54 defined in the lowerturret 3.

A flat plate shaped table 56 is provided on an upper portion of the dieholder 23, and a plurality of brushes 57 are implanted in the table 56so as to be oriented upwardly to support the sheet material W frombelow. Also, brushes 58 similar to the brushes 57 are also implanted onthe table 24 of the lower turret main body 21 so as to be orientedupwardly. It is, however, to be noted that in place of those brushes 57and 58, ball bearings (not shown) may be used and disposed on the tables24 and 56.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate only one of a plurality of die holders 23 forthe purpose of illustration, but except for number of the dies 5mounted, the dimension and shape, the remaining die holders 23 arebasically similar in structure to that shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower turret 3 includes the die holders23, fixed to the lower turret main body 21, and the die holders 23 fixedto the in-and-out moving body 22. In the present preferred embodiment,the number of the die holders 23 fixed to the lower turret main body 21preferably is two, and those two die holders 23 are disposed onrespective sides opposite to each other with respect to the center O ofthe lower turret 3, for example. Those two die holders 23 are each usedto accommodate a relatively large die 5. The number of the in-and-outmoving bodies 22 preferably is four, and each of the four in-and-outmoving bodies 22 preferably includes six or eight die holders 23 fixedthereto, for example.

The two in-and-out moving bodies 22 including the six die holders 23fixed thereto are disposed at respective positions opposite to eachother with respect to the center of the lower turret 3. Similarly, thetwo in-and-out moving bodies 22 including the eight die holders 23 fixedthereto are also positioned at respective positions opposite to eachother with respect to the center of the lower turret 3. Also, each ofthe in-and-out moving bodies 22 is capable of traversing about thetraverse center shaft 25 on the same side of a lower turretcircumferential direction. In other words, each of the in-and-out movingbodies 22 and each of the die holders 23 are preferably disposed inpoint symmetry, for example. While the number and the disposition of theforegoing is one example shown and described for the purpose ofillustration, the in-and-out moving bodies 22 and/or the number and thedisposition of the die holders 23 provided in the in-and-out movingbodies 22 are not limited to those shown and described. For example, thenumber of the in-and-out moving bodies 22 used may preferably be withinthe range of one to three or not smaller than five.

In the punch press of the construction hereinabove described, duringuse, all of the in-and-out moving bodies 22 are positioned at the useposition and are fixed in position via the fixing units 27. When itcomes to the replacement of the die 5, the in-and-out moving body 22having mounted thereon the die 5 desired to be replaced is positioned atthe replacement position. Since at the replacement position, arelatively large space is available between upper and lower sides of thedie mounting portion of the die holder 23 and, also, the die mountingportion is easily and completely viewable and ascertainable via theworker's eyes, the replacement of the die 5 is easily, assuredly andsafely accomplished.

Since a plurality of dies 5 are preferably mounted on the in-and-outmoving body 22, a plurality of dies 5 are able to be replaced with onlyone in-and-out moving body 22 brought to the replacement position, and,therefore, the efficiency is high. Since the in-and-out moving body 22is held in the position emerged out of the rim of the lower turret 3while the connection thereof with the lower turret main body 21 ismaintained, the in-and-out moving body 22 then at the replacementposition is able to be secured at a proper position, and therefore, thework to replace the die 5 is easily accomplished.

If the die holder 23, in which the dies 5 tending to be replaced at ahigh frequency are provided, is collectively mounted on the samein-and-out moving body 22, the frequency of the in-and-out moving body22 brought in and out is significantly reduced, allowing the efficiencyof the work to replace to be increased. Also, even when the dies 5,which are used in processing one product, are collectively provided inthe same in-and-out moving body 22, the efficiency of the replacementwork is similarly increased.

If, as is the case with the above described preferred embodiment, thedies 5 are disposed on the lower turret main body 21 of the lower turret3 or the in-and-out moving body 22 through the die holders 23,replacement of the die holders 23 with ones appropriate to the dies 5makes it possible that a variety of dies 5 are disposed on the lowerturret 3 which defines the integrated die support body. It is, however,to be noted that without the die holders 23, the dies 5 may be disposeddirectly on the lower turret main body 21 or the in-and-out moving body22.

Although the present invention has been fully described in connectionwith the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to theaccompanying drawings which are used only for the purpose ofillustration, those skilled in the art will readily conceive numerouschanges and modifications within the framework of obviousness upon thereading of the specification herein presented of the present invention.Although, in describing the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, reference has been made to the turret punch press, thepresent invention is not necessarily limited thereto and can beapplicable to any punch press other than the turret type. For example,the present invention can be equally applicable to a punch press of thetype in which each of the integrated punch support body and theintegrated die support body is of a rectangular or substantiallyrectangular configuration.

Accordingly, such changes and modifications are, unless they depart fromthe scope of the present invention as delivered from the claims annexedhereto, to be construed as included therein.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention,therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

1-4. (canceled)
 5. A punch press comprising: a plurality of punches; aplurality of dies that perform a punching process in cooperation withthe plurality of punches; an integrated punch support body, on which theplurality of punches are mounted; and an integrated die support bodypositioned below the integrated punch support body and having theplurality of dies mounted thereon; wherein the integrated die supportbody is structured such that the plurality of the dies are juxtaposedalong a rim of the integrated die support body; the integrated diesupport body includes an integrated die support main body and anin-and-out moving body that enables at least a portion thereof to assumea condition emerging out of the rim of the integrated die support bodywhile connection of the in-and-out moving body with the integrated diesupport main body is retained; and some of the plurality of diesdisposed in the integrated die support body are disposed in thein-and-out moving body.
 6. The punch press as claimed in claim 5,wherein the integrated die support body includes a turret.
 7. The punchpress as claimed in claim 5, wherein the in-and-out moving body isrotatable about a traverse center shaft, provided in the integrated diesupport main body, to move in and out with respect to the rim of theintegrated die support body.
 8. The punch press as claimed in claim 5,further comprising a plurality of die holders removably secured to thein-and-out moving body, the plurality of dies being mounted individuallyor in a plural number on each of the plurality of die holders.